Evolve Security Academy Launches Cybersecurity Training at 1871

First Of Its Kind Cybersecurity Training Academy Will Address Serious Talent Shortage Affecting Our Privacy, Business and National Critical Infrastructure.

CHICAGO (February 18, 2016) – Evolve Security Academy, Inc. and 1871 today announced the launch of Evolve Security Academy, a first of its kind cybersecurity training program, which will be based out of 1871. The program provides in-person information security training and focuses on placing graduates into high-paying jobs.

“Our mission is to change the current cybersecurity training and education model,” said Evolve Security Academy Co-Founder and CEO Paul Petefish. “There is a massive talent shortage in the space and no one is addressing it. The more than 200,000 unfilled cybersecurity roles in the United States are putting the nation’s privacy, business and critical infrastructure at risk. Our model of cybersecurity training seeks to improve this shortage by providing competency-based training that is part theory, part hands-on lab, and part real-world work projects.”

The program offers seventeen weeks of part-time curriculum created and taught by information security experts. Following four weeks of online preparatory curriculum, students participate in thirteen weeks of immersive curriculum with professional instructors, experience real-world assessment training, complete a final project to share with potential employers, and receive job placement services.

“Evolve Security Academy adds a critical resource to our robust educational offerings at 1871 and will improve Chicago’s technology community,” said 1871 CEO Howard A. Tullman. “This program provides the meaningful training students need in order to build a long and fruitful career in information security and is another avenue to help people enter the tech economy. Growth in cybersecurity jobs will have a profound effect on the Chicago economy.”

In an effort to support diversity in the cybersecurity field, Evolve Security Academy will offer scholarships for veterans, women, and minority applicants. Evolve Security Academy joins the other education programs at 1871 that 1871 asks to offer scholarships to underserved communities in order to improve the inclusiveness of Chicago’s technology and entrepreneurial ecosystem. The education of individuals from outside of the technology community and their subsequent placement into stable jobs in growing fields is a key component of 1871’s ongoing work to foster diversity throughout our community. This effort has resulted in the successful training of dozens of people who otherwise may not have been able to receive these educational opportunities.

Programming for the first cohort of Evolve Security Academy will begin on February 29, 2016. To learn more, visit http://www.evolveacademy.io.

1871 hosts a series of educational programs in areas such as cybersecurity, coding, entrepreneurship, and design. To see a full list of the courses offered at 1871, please visit http://www.1871.com/edu.